The intensive introduction of regulatory policies reflects the problems existing in the popularity of blind boxes, an innovative marketing and consumption method, and it is necessary to establish rules for blind box business activities.
In addition, the industry itself is also changing. Some people in the industry have reported that the popularity of blind boxes has declined, and many brands and foundries have overstocked inventory, which has flowed to the second-hand market. The “IT Times” reporter found that second-hand transactions of blind boxes in live broadcast rooms are not uncommon.
Second-hand blind box “Business Classic”
Nana (pseudonym) is a blind box anchor. When she entered the platform as an individual merchant, she uploaded the marketing license for a home improvement individual industrial and commercial household, which is inconsistent with her current behavior of selling blind box trendy games. “The platform There is no detailed inspection, only the authenticity of the documents is verified, and after I have paid the deposit, I can broadcast the link on the live broadcast.”
When it comes to the purchase channel of second-hand blind boxes, Nana introduced that it is usually to contact the supplier with the supply source and get the clearance goods from the blind box foundry from the other party.
At present, the popularity of the blind box industry chain has dropped significantly. According to media reports, compared to last year, orders for blind boxes from many domestic foundries have dropped significantly, and some factories have even stopped the production of blind box products. Some foundries had a large backlog of blind box products because Chaowan could not pay. Under such circumstances, the foundries sold these backlogged products to recover losses.
The reporter contacted a supplier. In the price list provided by the other party, the reporter saw that some well-known blind box brands have some types of inventory, and the price is 60 to 30% off the retail price.The customer service staff of the supplier said that the source of their own goods is guaranteed to be genuine, but what series can be purchased depends on the factory’s surplus, and there may be problems such as defects and no concealment. “The goods are sent directly from the foundry to you. I cannot issue an invoice here, nor do I provide after-sales service.. ‘ said the customer service staff.
In addition, many second-hand blind boxes also come from players. Many players will sell their unboxed and unpacked blind boxes from time to time. Some people don’t want to continue playing blind boxes, while others want to make room to buy new blind boxes. Although this part of the product belongs to the known sales content and is not strictly a blind box product, many blind box anchors are still happy to accept players for second-hand blind box consignment in their live broadcast room.
Nana said that these methods do not require the anchor to pay the cost, as long as they sell them, they can get a proportional cut, and many players will choose to continue to consume in their own live broadcast rooms after they have sold out the blind boxes at hand, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.
Nana occasionally goes to offline stores to buy new blind boxes. On the one hand, it is to attract fans into the live broadcast room. On the other hand, according to the regulations of the short video platform, the purchase certificate must be uploaded to sell products.butWhether it is factory clearance or player consignment, she cannot issue invoices and purchase contracts. She can only use the invoices issued by the blind box store to prove that the supply is regular, although this is also suspected of violation.。
“Play” in the live room
In the blind box live broadcast room, the blind box sales mode is mainly based on auction and lottery.
In the auction method, the target is the blind box of known content that the player consigns. The anchor will show the basic situation of the doll’s shape and whether it is worn or not in public, and report the starting price and the audience will bid. If no one is interested, the anchor will send the blind box back to the consignee.
The lottery is a common way of playing in the blind box live broadcast room. After the audience pays a certain amount of money, they specify the blind box they want. The anchor opens it in public, shows the content of the blind box to the audience, and then seals the box in public and mails it to the audience. In this process, the most interesting thing for the audience is whether they can open hidden funds.
In addition, there are derivative games. In addition to the blind box, the audience also has an exclusive random number. After the anchor randomly assigns a number, the audience with the same number ending in the number will get a “parking space”. In the end, all the audience who got the “parking space” participated Draw the final prize.
A blind box player told reporters that he had “getted on” six or seven times in different live broadcast rooms, and the prizes he received were some basic blind boxes, and he never won the grand prize.
For her, when the anchor opens the box, the whole live room witnesses the content of her blind box together. The tense and exciting atmosphere fascinates her.
Chaos needs to be rectified
The existence of the blind box live broadcast room can help players recover some of their funds, allow buyers to “pick up leaks” at low prices, and can also bring a certain amount of traffic to the anchor. In theory, this is a win-win business for all parties, but on various social platforms, many users are complaining about the chaos in the blind box live broadcast room, and the lottery game is a high-risk area of ”explosive thunder”.
In a live broadcast room called “Oh Hoo Chaowan”, the anchor accidentally revealed the ID card in the blind box when he aimed at the camera to show the unboxing. Some viewers recognized that it was a hidden model of a certain series of blind boxes. But as the anchor further opened the box, the hands and the blind box were moved out of the camera. After returning to the camera again, everyone found that the doll shape on the ID card had become a normal one.
In a live broadcast room called “Fairy Tide Play Club”, some viewers compared the brand new blind box of the official flagship store and found that,The new unopened blind box claimed by the anchor is re-sealed. It is very likely that the second-hand blind box that has been opened is disguised as a new blind box and sold at a high price。
The above-mentioned two Douyin live broadcast rooms have been suspended, but according to user reports, there are similar trumpet live broadcasts to continue these operations.
According to the “Blind Box Product Management Specification” (referred to as the “Specification”) updated by the Douyin platform, all content creators who publish and promote blind box products are blind box merchants and should be bound by this specification. At the same time, regarding the phenomenon of blind box anchors and second-hand blind boxes on the platform, the “Specification” also pointed out that in the process of promoting blind box products, anchors are not allowed to superimpose other random marketing methods; It is necessary to clearly remind consumers that “the consumer agrees to unpack the box when they place an order.”
Returning from “Maotai of the post-90s” to “young people’s toys”, in order to clean up the chaos in the blind box industry, in addition to rational consumption by consumers, the continuous efforts of regulatory authorities, platforms and operators are also required.
Comprehensive report/IT Times trainee reporter Chen Yuqi
Editor / Qian Lifu kicked girl
Typesetting / Ji Jiaying